Astros, Hooks Extend Player Development Contract

CORPUS CHRISTI - Officials from the Houston Astros and Corpus Christi Hooks announced Monday that the player development contract between the two organizations has been extended four years through 2016.

"This is a great day for Ryan-Sanders Baseball and the Corpus Christi Hooks," CEO Reid Ryan said. "The extension further strengthens our great relationship with the Astros. Most importantly, it means that for the next six seasons our fans in the Coastal Bend will be able to continue following the progress of their Hooks as they ascend to the Major Leagues.

"We have been blessed with a terrific fan base in Corpus Christi and I'm extremely proud of Ken Schrom and the rest of our front-office staff at Whataburger Field. Corpus Christi was an Astros town for 40 years before it was a Hooks town and that dynamic has been an important factor in our success."

"Corpus Christi has been an integral part of our player development system since 2005, and the fan base that has grown in that area since then is just as important as the growth our players have had while at the Double-A level," Astros Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Development Ricky Bennett said. "We are excited about preserving our valued relationship with Ryan-Sanders Baseball and the City of Corpus Christi for the next six seasons."

Ryan-Sanders Baseball has owned the Texas League Double-A affiliate of the Astros since 1998. In 2000, the Jackson Generals moved to Central Texas and became the Round Rock Express. Five years later, the Double-A franchise moved to Corpus Christi - bringing affiliated baseball to the region for the first time in 46 years (1958-59 Corpus Christi Giants). In six seasons, the Hooks have drawn 2,778,150 while ranking among the annual attendance leaders in all of Minor League Baseball.

The Astros-Hooks exhibition game on April 2, 2009, drew a stadium-record 9,118. Along with Corpus Christi's triumph over Wichita for the Texas League championship on September 15-16, 2006, the Astros-Hooks contest was cited as one of the two most memorable events in team history in on-line fan polling this summer.

"The Astros are working hard to put a winner on the field. We're excited about what the future holds for their player development system," Ryan added. "Corpus Christi can't wait for the day the Astros play at Whataburger Field again!"